Garment



y 1938. R. M. KAPINAS 2,124,112

GARMENT Filed Feb. 4, 1935 IN VENTOF? TH M. HAPINAS ZK/Qzd 11M ATTORNEYSPatented July 19, 1938 PATENT OFFICE GARMENT Ruth M. Kapinas,Minneapolis, Minn., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Munsingwear,Inc., Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation of Delaware Application February4, 1935, Serial No. 4,903

4 Claims.

The garment to which the present invention relates is of the so-calledcorset or girdle type and the particular object of the invention is toprovide an improvement in the construction of such garments by which thediaphragm and stomach of the wearer will be maintained in fiat conditionregardless of the posture of the wearer.

There is now upon the market a type of corset or girdle which is made ofso-called 2-way stretch material and which is designed to mould andcontrol the figure of the wearer. However, it is found that suchgarments, especially when they are of full length, do not always servetheir intended function when the wearer is sitting or bending over. Insuch postures the diaphragm and stomach often protrude thus spoiling thevery desirable flat effect which is intended to be produced by thegarment.

My invention aims to overcome such defects in garments as presentlyconstructed by incorporating therein means for producing and maintainingthe flat effect of the diaphragm and stomach.

With the foregoing and other purposes in mind, I have appended hereto adrawing illustrating a practical embodiment of my invention. It is to beunderstood, however, that I do not limit myself to the details ofconstruction therein shown, whether in the details of the garment itselfor of the particular arrangement of boning. Once the invention has beenexplained to those skilled in the art, it will be obvious that it may beembodied in other forms without sacrificing any of its advantages andwithout departing from the scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a garment embodying my invention as itappears on the wearer in sitting posture; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front view of the inside of the garment showingmy invention applied thereto.

Referring now to the drawing, reference numeral it] indicates generallya garment to which my invention. is applied. This garment may be made ofall elastic material or partly elastic and partly inelastic. Also, itmay be made in the form of a seamless tube or it may be made of severalsections of suitable material secured together in any well known manner.As usual, where a 1-way stretch material is employed the garment will bemade so that the direction of stretch will be horizontal, and in thecase oi 2-way stretch fabric the garment will also stretch in a verticaldirection.

A garment of the type herein described, especially when made ofso-called 2-way stretch material fits closely the contour of the bodyand does, in use, actually permit the diaphragm and stomach to assume arounded contour, especially when the wearer is sitting down. It ishighly desirable that the diaphragm and stomach be maintained in flatcondition and this cannot be accomplished by the garment alone as atpres- I ent constructed.

My invention resides in the provision of bones in that part of thegarment which overlies the diaphragm and stomach and which are soarranged as to maintain these parts of the body flat under allconditions and regardless of the posture of the wearer.

The details of construction are shown more clearly in Fig. 2 in whichfigure reference numerals II indicate a pair of bone or stay pocketswhich it will be observed are arranged diagonally and cross each othersubstantially at the center line at the front of the garment. Whetherthe garment is stretchable horizontally, or both horizontally andvertically, the directions of the crossed bones will be inclined to thedirection of stretch.

In the drawing, I have shown these pockets H as of sufiicient width toaccommodate three individual bones or stays IE but it will be understoodthat I do not limit myself to this particular number. The bone pocketsII are formed by stitching suitable nonelastic material I5, either silkor satin, or the like, to the body of the garment by suitable stitchingsuch as indicated at 13. Also, the compartments in the pockets for theseveral stays are defined by similar stitching M. I do not limit myselfto any particular manner of securing the bones or stays to the garmentbut I am concerned mainly with the arrangement of the bones, as shown inthe draw- By having the bones or stays positioned diagonally andcrossing each other, they have the effect of limiting the stretch of thegarment in the area of the diaphragm and stomach and serve to maintainthese regions fiat and round permitting some outward flexing along thetop edge as shown in Fig. l.

I claim:

1. A foundation garment comprising an elastic body portion capable ofstretch in a circumferential direction, said body portion having a frontarea adapted to cover the abdominal region of the wearer, and means forstiffening the front abdominal area of the body portion againststretching and bulging including reinforcing bones located in said frontarea of the body portion, said bones extending along oppositely inclinedlines diagonal to the circumferential direction of stretch of the bodyportion.

2. A foundation garment comprising an elastic body portion stretchablein both vertical and horizontal directions having a front area adaptedto cover the abdominal region of the wearer, and means for stiffeningthe front abdominal area of the body portion against stretching andbulging including crossed bones located in said front area of the bodyportion, said bones extending along oppositely inclined lines diagonalto both said vertical and horizontal directions of stretch of the bodyportion.

3. A foundation garment comprising an elastic fabric body portioncapable of stretch in a circumferential direction having a front areaengageable with the body of the wearer immediately below the bust andextending downwardly over the abdominal region, and oppositely inclinedstiffening bones extending downwardly from a point adjacent the bustdiagonally to the direction of stretch of the body portion fabric andcrossing each other substantially midway of their length in theabdominal region of the body portion.

4. A foundation garment comprising an elastic fabric body portioncapable of stretch in a circumferential direction, said body portionincluding a front area adapted to cover the abdominal region of thewearer, a pair of oppositely inclined crossed reinforcing bones in theabdominal area of the elastic body portion extending diagonally to thedirection of stretch of the body portion fabric and adapted to stiffensaid area against stretching and bulging, and an inelastic fabriccovering stitched to the front are of the body portion and securing saidcrossed reinforcing bones in position.

RUTH M. KAPINAS.

